Apparatus for making sheets of pulp and similar articles



May 5, 1925. 1,536,163 D. SUTHERLAND, JR

APPARATUS FOR MAKING SHEETS O F PULP AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Oct. 7, 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Min im M PM W" YH- "I mmssw INVENTOR g ZQJI I M UAW/2 M SQf/VERL 44/0 a.

May 5, 1925. 1,556,163

D. M. SUTHERLA ND. JR

APPARATUS FOR MAKING SHEETS CF PULP AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Oct. '7, 1919 I 3 Sheet s $heet 2 7 I11 I I I I I I I I I r I I I. I I I h I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I l I II l! I I I I I W/T/VESSES llI/I/ENTUR MW 0/1/1051 M5Wfl5/PM/I 0 (/R.

Br 4 ZTORNEVS May 5, 1925 D. M. SUTHERLAND, JR

APPARATUS FOR MAKING SHEETS OF PULP AND SIMILAR ARTICLE-$3 Filed Oct. 7, 1919 E5 Sheets fiiwm; 3

UNITED sr rs Patented May 5, 1925. i i

na'mnnmnson SUTHERLAND', m, or

s PATENT o 1 1,s36,1s3 FFICE.

TaENToN, NEW JERSEY, AssIoNoR 'ro THE AGASOTE MILLCBOABD (70., OF EWING TOWNSHIP, JERSEY, A CORPORATION orunwmnsny. a 1

Application filed October 7,. 1919. Serial No. 329,122.

To all wiiom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL Manson SUTHERLAND,,Jr., a subjectof the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of Trenton, county of Mercer, State .of New Jersey, have invented certain new and use- 1 ful Improvements in an Apparatus for Mak- 2 for manufacturing pulp board and similar articles.

, tion is to i the molded into the mold the top 111g Sheets of Pulp and Similar Articles, of

which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a machine The principal object of my invenprovide an apparatus from which pulp board, or similar article, can readily turbance aspos'sible-to the Seaman.

1 kSheets of paper pulp, wood pulp, or the placing a suitable quantity of pulpinto a mold consisting of a bottom, a, top and 'a ,frameconstituting a deckle. Afterthe pulp has been placed of the mold ispressed upon the surface of the pulp to expel the bulk of the liquid therefrom, such liquid passing through the bottom of the mold and "possibly also through the top of the mold,

such bottom, or bottom and top, being suitably constructed to permit passage ofthe liquid, while preventing passage of' the fibres. Molds such asreferred to are shown in a patent to Daniel M. Sutherland and myself, No. 971,936, dated October 4, .1910,

,and 'in a patent to moving the, top and the .over'the bottom to permit the sheet to be ---"deposited upon a conveyor,

H myself, No. 1,272,566,

. A The soft sheet of pulp must then re moved from the moldinjorder to lie-carried to the drier and this is, done, as already shown in such patents, for instance, by re-. deckle'and turning or by attaching the sheet to the top by means of a suitably created vacuum, removing the top from. the

1 position over a suitable conveyor upon which the sheet is deposited when the vacuum is e broken.

The present invention provides an'a paratus which Will permit the sheetpto he removed from the mold withoutthense of a vacuum and without raising the sheet above the bottom of the mold. The apparatus comprehends a mold arrangement which will eel-removed with aslittle dis- 1 I associated mechanism,

e, and. particularly thick, large sheets of this material, aremadeby central stan mittin'g the most convenient removal of the moving away the'top to alendless carrier with cleansing and repair, and an arrangement of a plurality of apparatus, with associated supports to const tute an economical construction' permitting advantageous opera-.

tion.

These various arrangements, forming an constitute the best embodiment of the invention at present known to'me, but I desire it to be understood that each one of such arrangements may be employed independently of the others Without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention and, as will be obvious to anyone skilled in the arts, each of such arrangements has value in arts other than thatof manufacturing sheets of pulp.

The principle of my invention may best be understood from the description of an apparatus embodying the same. Such an apparatus is shown in the accompanying drawings,'in which Figure l is a sectional elevation of a pulp mold and associated parts, such figure being a section ;taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig-'2 is aysi'de elevation, partly in section, taken throu h'the mold illustrated in Fig. l but at rig t angles to Fig. 1, with the addition of an elevation, partly in sec.- tion, of an endless carrier, and the parts same;,an

Fig. 3 is a front elevation, partly in section, showin two molds supported from a ard for the purpose of perminimum employment of floor space. f

The central feature ofmy apparatus isa mold; This ma be constructed in the manner' shown in the drawing inwhich 5 represents a channeled mold bed or bottom provided with apertures'such as channels 6 to constitute ,draina e passages through Which Water mayrunfo as it drains or is ressed from the pulp; gutters 7 may also e provided to catch such water as flows from the side of the mold bed.

The mold bed is provided also with a foraminous screen 8, which, in a manner well known in the art, permits water to drain therethrough without permitting the passage of pulp fibres. As will hereinafter be explained, this screen forms the means, or a part of the means, for withdrawing the sheet of wet pulp from the mold. The mold bed may be supported in any suitable manner, but is preferably supported not only rigidly but, for reasons which will hereafter be explained, by a base which is itself supported at one side of the machine only. The deckle 9 is provided with inlets such as 10,

at distributed points, connected with means such as supply pipes 11 suitably connected to a source of pulp supply. The deckle walls are slightly flared at the bottom to avoid sticking therein of the formed pulp board. Some means should be provided such. as valves 12 for controlling the supply of pulp to the mold. Suitable means such as cylinders 13 provided with pistons .14 and piston rods 15 are provided to raise and lower the deckle. The top plate'16 of the mold is arranged to fit slidably within the decide being surrounded by said decklc permanently and suitable means for raising and lowering the top plate is provided. the lowering means belng preferably of such a nature that it may exert a substantial pressure. For instance, the means for raising the top may consist of cylinders 17, pistons 18 and piston rods 19, while the means for lowering the top may consist of the larger cylinders 20 and pistons 21 for operation by steam or water. The mold top constitutes a matrix which engages and gives form to the upper surface of the pulp board. In the construction shown the top is imperforate, since all water is expressed through the mold bed, and presents a smooth, flat face to the pulp board.

in operation, the mold parts are first positioned with the deckle and mold bottom in contact and the mold top raised a suitable distanee above the inlets 10. Pulp is then flowed into the mold through the supply pipes until a suitable level as indicated at a (Fig. 1) is reached. The supply of pulp is then shut off by closing the valves 12, and the mold top is then lowered under aressure, such pressure serving to press the ulk of the water from the pulp through the screen 8 into the channels 6 and from such channels into the gutters 7. The inlets 10 are preferably arranged at such a height that when all water that can be pressed from the pulp has been expressed therefrom. the mold top 16 covers. or is below, the inlets.

In order to remove the pulp sheet from the mold shown in the drawings, preferably the deckle and thereafter the top plate, are raised so as to permit the screen 8 carrying the sheet to be pulled away from the mold bottom in a plane parallel thereto.

I am aware of the fact that it has been proposed to remove plaster board from a forming mold in a plane parallel to that of the bottom of the mold, and that. in order to do so, the bottom has been lowered away from the deckle. (See United States patent to Heichert, No. 1,023,934 of April 23, 1912.) However, this method is not a feasible one for use in connection with a mold having a top, bottom and deckle, when it is desired to form pulp sheets in such mold. as the removal of the bottom alone would cause the formation of a partial vacuum within the mold. In order to prevent the formation of such a partial vacuum, I first open the mold by separating the decklc and the bottom, the top remaining in the same position relatively to such bottom. preferably by raising the dccklc from the bottom while the. top is still sulr stantially in contact with the top surface of the sheet. Of course, before raising the deckle, the prcssurc upon the top should be released as otherwise such pressure would tend to distort the soft pulp sheet by forcing parts of the same out through the opening left by the raising of the deckle.

The screen 8 may be of any suitable construction, but is preferably constructed as shown in Fig. 2 in the form of an endless foraminous belt conveyor encircling the mold bed and its supporting base, such type of screen being easily operated and readily cleaned while in use. In the structure shown, the endless conveyor 8 is guided by suitable rolls 24, 2- on opposite sides of the bed and is maintained taut by tensioning rolls 25, 25. The additional guide rolls 26, 26, carried in suitable adjustable sup ports 27, 27, may also be provided if desired. Both tensioning devices being similar, one only will be more particularly de scribed. The roll 25 is carried in a frame 28 pivoted to the base at 29. A weight 30 is adjustably mounted on an arm 31 pivoted to the frame at the axis of the roller in such manner that it may rest in the horizontal position shown, or may be swung upwardly and inwardly to the position shown in dotted lines (Fig. in which it will not interfere with the removal of the conveyor belt from the mold bed. Provision is made for lifting and holding in elevated position the tightening roll 25 when it is desired to remove the conveyor belt for cleaning or repair. As shown, a thrust screw 3?), pdsitioned in a bracket 34, secured to one of the beams of the base, engages an inwardly projectingend of the tightener frame to hold the roll elevated.

More or less pulp fibre adheres to the sur face of theconveyor in use and it is desirable to provide clcaningmeans. shown. water is sprayed on to both sides of the belt through nozzl s. 36. 3t), and a rot atablc brush 37 operates thercbctwcen to lean .thc belt.

side of the machine. This arrangement per 'mits the sidewise removal of the endless Conveyorbelt witho t the necessity of rcmoving any support-s.

This feature is of particular alue in con-- nection with the duplex arrangement of apparatus as shown in'Fig. i. in which a pair of apparatus are supported by a central pillar. or series of central pillars, or other suitable centrally arranged supports, so that when they are worked simultaneously, the pressure of each apparatus balances that of the other. and thus permits both machines to be carried by a central support of a size and strength which would be necessary for supporting a single apparatus. The central support shown at 40, 41, Fig. 3, with a suitably arranged series of horizontal supporting beams 39. and a suitably arranged series of overhead horizontal beams 42 between which series the two apparatus are held, as shown, permits the support, and balanced operation, of the machines as hereinabove described. The endless belt'conveyors may readily be removed from the apparatds, for purpose of inspection, repair or renewal, without the necessity of providing additional factory floor space for this purpose. It is obvious that the walls of the factory in which such an apparatus is located may be arranged close to the sides of the duplex apparatus, it suitable openings be provided therein for the removal of the belt onveyors.

I claim:

1. An apparatus of the character described, having in combination a mold bed and a mold top, one movable relatively to the other. a conveyor located between said mold top and said mold bed. said conveyor being in contact with said mold bed and movable laterally thereof. and a deckle surrounding said mold top and of such height as to always engage said mold top in all the operative relative positions of said deckle and mold top.

2. An apparatus of the character described. having in combination a mold bed. a decltle movable toward and from said mold bed. a conveyor therebctween in con tact with said mold bed and movable laterally thereo't. and a mold top permanently within the said dcckle the distance between the mold bed and the mold top being vari able by moving one of them relatively to the other.

i An apparatus of the character dcscribcd, having in combination. a mold bed and a mold top. one movablerelatively to the other; a deckle movable relative to said mold top and toward and from said. mold bed, an endless conveyor in contact with the mold bed movable laterally ot the mold bed to convey the tormed article trom the mold bed, means to raise the deckle and means to separate the mold top and mold bedfshbstan'tially as and for the purpose described.

4. An apparatus ot the character de scribed, having in combination a moldbed and .a mold top one movable relatively to the other, a conveyor located between said mold top and mold bed in contact with said mold bed and movable laterally thereof. a (lO 'hlPL surrounding said mold top and movable toward and from, said mold bed. means for lifting and lowering the deckle. and independent means for separating the mold top and mold bed-and bringing them closer together. l

5. An apparatus of the character described. having in combination. a mold bed provided with drainage passages. a decklc above and co-operating with said mold bed to form a mold chamber and having pulp inlets therein. a mold top fitted within said deckle the distance between the mold top and mold bed being variable by moving one of them relatively to the other. and said mold top closing the pulp inlets when the mold top and mold bed are closest together, a toraminous conveyor overlying said mold bed, and movable laterally thereof to remove a formed pulp board and means for separate ing and bringing together said mold bed and declvle with the toraminous conveyor therehetween and for bringing together said moldtop and mold bed to compress pulp in said mold chamber to form a pulp board on said conveyor. substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. An apparatus of the character described. having in combination. a mold bed and a mold top. one movable relatively to the other. a declrle movable relative to said mold top and toward and from said mold bed. an endless conveyor on and surrounding the mold bed and movable to convey laterally the tormed article. and means to raise the deckle and means to separate the mold top and mold bed. substantially as and for the purpose described. 7

7. An apparatus of the character described. having in combination. a mold bed provided with drainage passage a continuous endless toraminous conveyor movable over said mold bed. a declvle above. movable toward and from said mold bed and co-operating when in its lowermost position with said mold bed and conveyor to form a mold chamber. said deckle having pulp inlets through its walls at distributed points, an

imperforate mold top fitting within said deckle the distance between said mold top and mold bed being variable by moving one of them relatively to the other to compress pulp in said mold chamber against the foraminous conveyor and mold bed and express water therefrom. said mold top closing said pulp inlets when it is closest to the mold bed, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. A belt tightener hm ing in combination a pivoted frame, a tension roller rotatable therein, an arm pivoted to said frame and movable toward and from its horizontal projected position and a weight adjustably mounted on said arm. substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. A molding apparatus having in combination, a mold bed, an endless conveyor movable over and surrounding said mold bed, said mold bed being supported entirely from one side to permit lateral removal and replacement of said endless conveyor, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

10. In combination, a central support, a plurality of transverse beams carried thereby, pressure exerting'mechanism supported by and between such beams at opposite sides of said central support, substantially as and for the purpose described.

11. In combination, a central support, a plurality of transverse beams carried thereby, mold beds supported on opposite ends of certain of said beams, and mold tops supported on opposite ends of certain other of said beams and'endless conveyors each arranged between one of said mold beds and mold tops and removable laterally therefrom. substantially as and for the purpose described.

12. In combination, a central support, a plurality of transverse beams carried thereby, mold beds supported on opposite ends of certain ofsaid beams and mold beds supported on" certain other of said beams, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

DANIEL MANSON SUTHERLAND, JR.

time! 

